ELMSDALE: You could forgive Municipality of East Hants Warden Eleanor Roulston for smiling ear-to-ear like it was Christmas morning on Thursday.
Minutes after the official announcement that the federal government would be investing $10 million conditionally into the Mass Timber Company so it can locate a $215 million facility in the Elmsdale Business Park, Roulston was still brimming with excitement at what that would mean for the municipality.
Once constructed and in operation, the Mass Timber Company would employ upwards of 124 people at good paying jobs.
Roulston was asked if the announcement left her feeling like Christmas came early.
“It sure is,” she told The Laker News in an interview. “Christmas in March, July, and December all rolled together.”
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Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food and Rural Economic Development Kody Blois made the announcement to a crowded council chamber on March 20 at the Lloyd E. Matheson Centre in Elmsdale. It was one of two funding announcements he made for the Municipality of East Hants.
“Forestry is an absolute heart and a foundation of the economy in Nova Scotia,” said Blois. “Of course, here in Hants County, it is crucial.
“We can talk about Ledwidge Lumber. We can talk about Elmsdale Lumber. Those are important employers right here in East Hants.
“Now we’re strengthening not only their existence, but we’re also building in more value.”
He said he was proud of the Mass Timber Company’s Patrick Crabbe and his crew at MTC and thrilled that there is a strong indigenous component as well.
“This is, I believe, the largest indigenous equity project in forestry in the province’s history,’ said Blois.
He also said while Crabbe couldn’t give all the details, a global player in the mass timber wants to come invest in Canada, invest in Nova Scotia, and ultimately, East Hants.
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Roulston told the crowd that the news of MTC setting up shop in the Elmsdale Business Park is big.
“This is transformational for East Hants,” said Roulston. “To have a commercial entity as large and as and influential and impactive as the Mass Timber Company locate here, it’s big.
“The jobs that it will bring, the benefit to the province, the impact on local businesses. We are just so beyond.”
Hants East MLA John A. MacDonald ensured the province supported both the projects as well.
The $10 million in federal support is conditionally subject to the required due diligence measures, and the negotiation of a final agreement by both parties, to:
- Work with local forest sector partners and First Nations to integrate their operations into a high-specification manufacturing business.
- Use technology-driven manufacturing to open a facility that can use Eastern Spruce – currently undervalued in the lumber industry – to create high-value products such as cross-laminated timber (CLT) panels and glue-laminated beams and columns.
- Diversify their product lines by maximizing the value of wood fibre products, which will contribute to the local economy by increase income per unit and growing operations.
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Ultimately, this project would add value to the lumber products produced by the company in Nova Scotia, using next-generation technology to strengthen the forest sector in the province.
The project would also create 124 new local jobs while opening new economic avenues for the use of locally grown Eastern Spruce lumber in manufacturing.
Crabbe was asked how they chose Elmsdale to setup MTC. He said it came down to a comprehensive investigation and having built a mass timber project, the East Hants Aquatic Centre.
“We did a very comprehensive investigation of all of the large sites, within the Nova Scotia area,” he said. “We needed roughly 60 acres. There had to be traffic studies. There had to be the local municipal infrastructure and servicing required, like water and sewer.
“With us having built the Aquatic Centre, there was an existing relationship here and working with Graham Scott, here with the East Hants Municipality, they’ve supported us every step of the way.
He said they are still working through their final stages of capitalization with their investment partners.
“We anticipate by mid to late April that that we will be in a position to start breaking ground,” said Crabbe.
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The project is being done in partnership with We’koqma’q First Nation (Waycobah) and other First Nation communities will have a role in the forestry sector with the MTC.
Gioia Usher, CEO of We’koqma’q First Nation (Waycobah), said they are deeply honored to be invited to participate in such a significant project alongside their fellow Mi’kmaq communities and potential partners.
“This opportunity to be a major player in the in the forestry industry in Nova Scotia is a monumental step towards self sufficiency for our nations,” she said.
“It represents a profound commitment to economic reconciliation, allowing us to contribute and benefit from sustainable forestry practices and ultimately end products.
“This collaboration not only strengthens our community’s economic foundation but also honors the traditional knowledge and stewardship of the land.”
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Crabbe said it was indeed an exciting day for East Hants. He said the funding from the federal government was critical as they are their first public partner.
“That is really going to increase the confidence, demonstrating the public support behind it, and certainly help with some of those final investment negotiations,” he said.
“But really what it means personally, as I mentioned in my remarks, it has been more than 10 years of talking about this and pursuing the dream with some really strong partners.
“Now it feels like, we’re turning the dream into reality here in East Hants.”
